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TCS Customer Newsletter
Courage in the face of adversity is
putting it mildly when describing
Sarmad Tariq. His has been a courage
that defies description, and the
adversity that he has faced and
overcome has been of gargantuan
proportions. His self-narrated life story
recently posted on www.youtube.com
under the title He unlearnt the word
impossible! brought back memories
from eight years ago when TCS cosponsored
his world record setting
drive across 1850 kilometers in 32
hours. Sarmad Tariq is a quadriplegic
and paralyzed from the shoulders
downward. I was there that night at
the Royal Rodale Club on the shores
of the Arabian Sea in Karachi when a
tired but ecstatic Sarmad brought his
customized Honda City to a halt in the
midst of resounding applause and a
showering of rose petals by a large
gathering comprising his family, friends,
supporters and admirers.
The red ‘Beyond Elastic Limits’ flag
and the green Pakistan flag marked
the outer edges of his car’s tailfin. The
message was both basic and very
profound. Pushing the envelope, no
matter how elastic, is no longer
sufficient. Thinking and operating
outside the box, and accepting no limits
on what can be accomplished applied
in equal measure to both a quadriplegic
in the shape of Sarmad Tariq, as well
as the Pakistani nation.
Heavy Price for a Moment of
Youthful Reckless Abandon
“When I was 15 years old I was aspiring
to become a boxer with the Olympics
as my objective. During my summer
vacations after completing Matric (High
School) I was visiting my cousins in
Gujranwala, and while driving we came
14 April, 2012 / Volume: 11 / Issue: 1
across a canal, and I took off my shirt
and dived in head first. There was just
two and a half feet of water and I broke
my neck in three places. I was
paralyzed from the neck down,” says
Sarmad in the video. That was the
beginning of Sarmad’s ordeal that
would have felled most mortals. "We
handicapped may have to take the
long road at times but we do arrive.
Remember that," says Sarmad Tariq,
and carries on to explain the dynamics
of his predicament and how he has
set about getting ahead.
Plenty of Silver Lining in this
Storm Cloud
“My name is Sarmad Tariq and I am
Pakistan. Sarmad means ever lasting.
I appreciate life a lot, and I would like
to leave a legacy so that people who
know me or have come to hear my
story live their lives to the fullest. I see
myself as a story teller, and my
expertise in story telling revolves
around my own story. I am paralyzed
from the shoulders downward. In this
condition I made a world record by
driving from the Khyber to the Arabian
Sea in 32 hours. I was the first
Pakistani to represent Pakistan in the
New York Marathon on a wheel chair
and came back with a finisher’s medal.”
When he gets up in the morning
Sarmad says that he takes between 3
to 4 hours to get ready. “People ask
me why I work so hard and put myself
through such difficulty every day. I feel
very strongly that if I spend a day in
bed then it is me who is losing out
because people’s lives will carry on
and the world will keep moving ahead.
Moreover, staying in bed will depress
me even further. The responsibility for
my life is mine and mine alone, and
it’s up to me whether I make a success
of it or a hash of it.” So true.
Report filed by Adil Ahmad, Editor,
TCS CONNECT Customer Magazine